Unlabelled bottle from mentor. Mucho gracias. Had an Avery bottle cap on it. I was warned the carbonation could be over the top so I poured carefully but it turned out alright.

Poured a dark and heavy tarnish color. Strong head with some crazy speeding bubbles rising from the bottom of the glass. Nosenis mostly malts with a slight hint of evergreen.

The head had strong hop flavors. Kind of a surprise considering the aroma. Flavor was strong in the evergreen department and had quite a bit of tannins. Was there some wood used in the making of this beer? A bit watery though which kind of took away from the beer. Slightly dry mouthfeel. Nice IPA but kind of makes me think of a homebrewed beer. (704 characters)

12oz (unlabelled, but with official Avery cap) bottle from Mentor as part of BIF 33/The Race - Team Spring. Thanks for the opportunity.

Poured into an imperial pint glass, formed a 1/2" light tan head above the slightly cloudy orangey amber brew. Head fades slowly, with plentiful sticky lacing. Aroma is frash and clean citrus air, with light malt undercurrent. Taste is incredibly well-balanced, yet the citrus hops still shine nicely for a moment, then fade back into the nearly even scales. Mouthfeel is super smooth, almost floats over the tongue, and drinkability is superb as well. Can see why this is Avery's in-house brew. (635 characters)

Simple, yet vibrant hop aroma, with hints of various fruits (orange, pineapple, grapefruit), along with notes of pine and grass. Red-orange color, with a gigantic froth and very, very clingy lace. Flavor is very hoppy, with columbus hops, and a nice caramel backing. Thanks for the special surprise, Ernest. (307 characters)

Perfect pour. Clear amber with everlasting lacing - even small globs of foam remain on the glass. Smell is equal parts floral and citrusy hops. A little bit of alcohol on the nose as well. Smells very juicy. There's also some caramel in there. Taste is again a blend of floral and citrus. It's a bit harsh on the finish as there isn't quite enough sweetness to balance the bittering hops, and the alcohol does make a brief appearance. However, the hop blend is tasty enough. The mouthfeel is a little thin for my tastes. Drinkability isn't bad. (544 characters)

The beer poured into the glass crystal clear golden amber with a lofty off-white head which rose tall and fell slowly to lace the glass.

The aroma was deeply malty with a nice caramel aroma coupled with a citrusy hop aroma that was also just a bit earthy.

The flavor was unexpected after the huge aroma. The malty character was just an aroma enticer. The beer was light and quaffable with a high bittering that was citrusy and earthy. A pale ale for sure, ipa in bittering perhaps, but missing complexity of malty backbone for that.

The finish was dry with a lasting long bittering well into the aftertaste and beyond. The body was medium and a bit light. The aroma promised all sorts of malt and then all you got was a well hopped beer. Reminds me of the phase homebrewers go through when they bitter the heck out of every beer for awhile. Still a good beer, one I would purchase with regularity if given the chance.

Given to me in a 12oz. bottle from the brewhouse with no label, this brew poured out glowing copper in color, with a foamy, one finger tall head, and sparse but pretty lace.

The aroma was sweet and tropical with an inviting mix of pine resin, mango, and hay in the air. The aroma suggested a sweet and hoppy beer, but the taste was a little different than anticipated. There was not much sweet flavor. Instead it was more of a dry, spicy, and slightly earthy taste, more akin to an English Bitter than an IPA. The piney hops made it more American than English in nature, but still could not shake the image of an ESB while quaffing.

The strength was rather low for Avery, and the brew would have been very sessionable, had I acquired more than one. A simple and robust Bitter to be had when you dilute Hog Heaven, as this is a half strength version of that big Barleywine. (878 characters)

I agree with the last reviewer, and that the sample I got was just a one-off from the personal stash of the brewery. If I had the ability to give a beer-fly review of the brewery I would give it high marks. Problem being that they don't have many visitors. They are moving toward that, but aren't there yet. Regardless of the amenities, the hospitality is impeccable!

Appearance: This beer pours a super light and clear light orangish golden color with an assertive foamy head at first pout that fades within about a minute or so to a pretty thick ring around the glass.

Aroma: The aroma is really hoppy! There is a plethora of citrus and subtle spiciness from the hops. Other than this, I may get a tad of malt.

Taste: There is an oily hop presence in the flavor. It is really fresh and floral, but doesn't leave much for anything else. It leaves the palate pretty dry due to the bittering, but it is still really notable for the assertive flavors that come from this beer.

Opinion: I am sorry that this is only a house beer. I imagine that Avery brewing will end up releasing some sort of beer like this for real, because Adam is one of the world's true Hop-Heads. So far, their IPA is one of my favorites, but this beer is so hoppy and fresh that I would have to say that I would take it over the flagship IPA! Imagine that! (1,339 characters)

Okay, it might not be a good idea to review this beer as it's never been released and there are no plans to ever release it. This is an 'in house' beer that's produced for consumption within the brewery by Avery employees. Heck, the bottles I've got don't have any labels on them. This beer is exactly 1/2 the recipe of Hog Heaven and is a great, easy drinking, IPA or APA.

Obtained from the brewery about a week ago and served room temp from my cellar in July 2005. Pours a solid light tan (with yellow hints) two-finger head that settles rather quickly. The beer itself is crystal clear and orange brown, almost red rust in color. Smells mostly citrus hoppy. Grapefruit pith with some sweet orange pleasant pine. Malt is absent, except perhaps a hint of honey. Tastes wonderful. Five years ago, this is classified firmly as an IPA. Today, in over-hopped America, it's borderline between an APA and an IPA. The taste is dominated by hop flavor moreso than hop bitter. Grapefruit pith, oranges, a hint of tangerine and pineapple. Bitter has some rough co-ho, but overall is quite pleasing on my hop-loving pallete. Malt sweet is *way* beneath. No clear malt or fruity ester qualities rise to be recognized (well, maybe some apricot). Late, I get a taste of iron and a sourish piney hop. Then, what I first think could be late tannin, develops into a hop bitter grapefruit pith aftertaste. While there's no distinct malt sweet, this beer in not overly hop profiled...there's just enough sweet to keep this one from going over the edge. Also, the burps are pretty good, too. Citrusy hop flavored with a smidge of rough co-ho. The beer is medium bodied, but clinging to my tongue enough to keep the flavor and mouthfeel around a while. Moderately carbonated (bordering on strong) with a little bit of lacing on the inside of my glass. Drinkable?...oh, yeah. No wonder this is the easy drinking 'house beer' of Avery Brewing. (1,924 characters)